In Canada, Victoria Day is celebrated on the Monday before May 25th to commemorate the birthday of Queen Victoria. She was Canada’s Head of State in 1867 when the country was formed, and she remained Queen until her death in 1901.

Historically, Queen Victoria gave my people of the Six Nations Haudenosaunee Confederacy blankets to honour our relationship as allies. We had originally made the Two Row Wampum covenant with the British Crown—a sacred, nation-to-nation covenant. This is what “treaty” means to us Haudensoaunee people. Even today, the British Monarch remains the Head of State of Canada, a continuous line stretching back to those early agreements.

Over time, blankets became too expensive, so Queen Victoria began distributing bread and cheese instead. This was a typical gift for the poor on royal occasions. Eventually, the Crown stopped giving even this lesser gift. Rather than letting the promise die, the traditional government at Six Nations picked up the responsibility and began distributing the bread and cheese to our own people. We are such dedicated covenant keepers that we honour the agreement even when the other side walks away.

In 1924, Canada forcibly overtook the traditional government at Six Nations with the help of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, installing an elected Band Council and Chief. Yet, the community kept up the tradition of distributing bread and cheese on Victoria Day. I attended this year’s celebration on Monday, May 18, 2026 with my brother, my sister, and my brother-in-law. Right now, I have two blocks of cheddar cheese in my freezer, and I ate a couple of big slices of bread for lunch.

When our traditional chiefs celebrated Victoria Day, they wanted to highlight the fact that we were allies in a nation-to-nation covenant/treaty relationship. They called it Independence Day and we still refer to that in modern times. As covenant keepers we have a sacred day, a parade, a ceremony, a feast and a celebration. If you want to keep a covenant alive you must do things like this.

Christians understand this rhythm of covenant-keeping. We maintain our promises through sacred days, liturgical processions, holy ceremonies, the Lord’s Supper, church dinners, and pageants. We see it in marriage, too, which is marked by rehearsals, vows, symbols of remembrance, and feasts.

Canada has affirmed Indigenous treaty rights in Section 35 of the Constitution, and the courts frequently emphasize the “honour of the Crown” regarding its need to respect and keep its special relationship with Indigenous people. Covenant commitments are not casual deals made with specious actors; they are sacred commitments that are made with God as our witness, never to be taken lightly.

Scripture shows us that God takes these agreements seriously. In 2 Samuel 21, King David experienced a three-year famine because King Saul broke a 400-year-old treaty with the Gibeonites. God cares about broken treaties, and there are severe consequences when they are violated. Restitution must be made for a broken treaty, and God blesses the sacrificial efforts of those seeking to make things right.

Bread and Cheese Day at Six Nations reminds us of our covenant with Canada’s Head of State. We have kept this promise for more than 250 years, and I am confident we will still be celebrating it 250 years from now. Our people's oldest wampum belt is more than 880 years old. We do not forget our covenants because we constantly remind ourselves of our word. It is time for Canada to do the same.